Another Reminder of the Risks of Gambling Irresponsibly

A tragic story emerged back in August, explaining how an American husband committed suicide following a heavy losing streak in which he squandered millions of dollars playing a slot machine. In the wake of the tragedy, the victim’s wife has chosen to file a lawsuit against the Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack, and Resort, which is situated in West Virginia, US.

IGT Named in Suit

The widow, named Stacy Stevens, lost her husband, Scott, back in August 2012. Within her suit, she accused the Mountaineer and its employees of deliberately taking advantage of her husband’s clear gambling addiction. The suit even went was far as to include MTR Gaming and International Game Technology (IGT), the developer of the slot machine, in the lawsuit.

$7m Stolen from Employer

The actions of Mr Stevens were only discovered once an IRS audit uncovered that he had been embezzling money from his employer. All counted, it is said that Mr Stevens stole more than $7 million to fund his crippling gambling addiction. Prior to being discovered, Mr Stevens was considered to be a respected business executive in the community, at which time he worked as a chief financial officer.

Sadly, his gambling losses were not limited to his former employer, from which he was fired after the IRS audit. Mr Stevens went on to lose his children’s college fund, the family’s savings account, and his 401(k). Once all of the money was lost, Mr Stevens left a suicide note to his family explaining that he could only stop hurting them if he was not around.

Incredibly, Mr Stevens kept the news of his firing secret from his wife. He went on to gamble at the Mountaineer nearly every day until he committed suicide close to a year later. In the end, he never explained told his family about his gambling addiction and instead chose to tragically commit suicide ten months after losing his job.

$9m Lost in Total

Since the lawsuit was filed, there has been a wall of silence from the defendants. However, a number of the representatives working for the Stevens family have been commenting in the media. Sensationally, one representative explained that Mr Stevens had lost approximately $9 million when you factored in the losses suffered by his family.

The lawsuit attempts to argue that the employees of the Mountaineer Casino should have made efforts to intervene. They saw Mr Stevens gambling huge sums of money day after day and yet did nothing. The suit also contested that Mr Stevens was like many other slot machine addicts who had lost their will power to the games.

Moderation is the key for everything in life. Alcohol and drugs and can have devastating consequences when consumed by individuals who are unable to fight back against their own addictive nature. Gambling addicts are at risk of changes in their brain function making them powerless to resist the lure of slot machines. Always remember to set spending limits on casino accounts and to seek support from GamCare.org.uk if you have any trouble controlling your spending.